Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 60,271 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 288,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 60,271 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $24,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Graco Stock Up 1.1%

GGG stock opened at $80.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.67 and a 200 day moving average of $82.46. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.11%.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.